engine stalling

thanks the weather is going to put this off till next summer got to get the water out and antifreeze in

A ballast resistor is basically a power resistor used to lower the voltage going to the ignition coil. The ignition coil is in some cases designed to run on about 10 volts instead of the 13 plus you see at the battery with a working charging system. It is designed to work at 10 volts so it can provide a spark during starting when the large current draw from the starter lowers the battery voltage significantly. Typically the ballast resistor is bypassed during cranking but in line with the coil during running conditions so the coil sees a consistant 10 volts (I am rounding for simplicity). It is typically a ceramic part located under the dashboard. This is a case where you can safely go to an auto parts store and buy a cheap part and not worry about it blowing up your boat. However I wouldn't necessarily be convinced that this is an ignition gremlin. It is possible to have enough crap floating around a fuel filter or in your float bowl of the carberator to produce these same effects, if the boat has sat for any amount of time lately I would look into the fuel system as well. Good luck.. -Joe.   

Does the new engine have a new coil and electronic ignition? Coils have been known to quit once warm.[/QUOTE]

Ditto for ballast resistors.

I bought a 77 Southwind has a new engine it runs like a clock on fake lake. But after runing on lake for ten min. it stalls sounds to me like it loads up and dies. It will start back but will run for a min or less. Where would you startto look for the problem